Ryan Dohner was hired as the University of St. Thomas’ first-ever head cross country coach in July 2017.
Dohner oversaw the men’s and women’s cross teams’ first season during the 2018-19 academic year, and then programs’ transition into the NCAA’s Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in the Fall of 2019. In 2018, Dohner’s UST men’s team finished in second place at the Red River Athletic Conference championship meet, while the UST women finished third.
In the 2020 season the team was unable to compete in Cross Country in the Fall, however an abbreviated season in the Spring of 2021 was implemented. Coach Dohner improved the placing of the Women’s squad from 6th place in the conference to 3rd place. Unfortunately the men’s team was unable to compete due to Covid Quarantines. The UST Cross Country program also hosted their first home meet in school history placing first place on both the men and women’s side.
In the Spring of 2021, Coach Dohner took over the role of Director of Track and Cross Country when former Coach Eric Heins took a new position at Louisville University. The track team competed in their first track season in school history Spring of 2021.
An elite runner who enjoyed success in high school, college, and the professional levels, Dohner signed with HOKA Northern Arizona Elite in July 2015. He won his first race as a pro at the GO! St. Louis Halloween 10K and followed it up with a second-place finish at the Phoenix 5K. Afterwards, he finished second at the Lake Nona 15k in November.
In December 2015, Dohner finished 11th at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships, where he qualified to represent the United States at the 2016 Great Edinburgh XC Challenge. He finished 15th in Edinburgh against all-star teams from Great Britain and Europe.
Dohner secured a second-place finish in the 10K at the 2017 Portland Track Festival with a personal record of 28:19 finishing 1 second behind Olympic Silver Medalist Galen Rupp and securing a qualifying spot at the U.S. Track Championship in Sacramento, Calif where he finished 16th in the Country.
Dohner’s most notable performance came in 2018 when he set the Texas native born record for the Half Marathon running a time of 62:43 at the Chevron Houston Half Marathon.
Prior to his professional career, Dohner enjoyed a successful collegiate career at the University of Texas, where he competed on both the cross country and track and field teams. We was a two-time All-American in cross country, and also earned First Team All-America honors in 2012 in track and field.
Other collegiate accolades for Dohner include being a four-Time USTFCCCA Cross Country All-South Central Region honoree, a three-time All-Big 12 honoree in cross country, and in 2011 he was Academic All-Big 12 honoree for the sport of cross country.
A native of Houston, Dohner attended Klein Oak High School, where he was one of the nation’s top prep cross country runners. He won the Nike South Regional Cross Country Championship his senior year and finished 12th at the National Meet. On the track, he was the Texas State Champion at 3200 meters (9:00.15) and ran 8:55.58 in that same event at the Midwest Distance Gala.
